What Determines Google Rankings in 2026? The Latest Views of 131 Experts

Which factors influence Google rankings in 2026? On September 9, Zyppy published a new survey in which 131 SEO experts evaluated more than 100 potential ranking factors and nominated the three they considered most important.

Relevance (57.1%), backlinks (54.8%) and content quality (47.6%) led the “three most important factors” nominations. These percentages represent the share of respondents nominating each factor, not algorithmic weights.

In the detailed ratings, matching search intent received particular emphasis: can the page provide the result the user seeks or help them complete their task? For backlinks, experts valued trustworthy, topically relevant sources more than sheer quantity.

For content quality, original research and firsthand data scored highly. The original article's negative discussion of scaled AI content mainly concerned material without added value; some respondents also shared positive examples involving rigorous human review.

The survey also covered brand and reputation, user signals, technical SEO, internal links and user experience. Opinions differed considerably on the impact of speed and Core Web Vitals.

The accompanying images preserve the original charts for all eight factor groups, with Chinese summaries of key scores below them. Ratings run from −3 to +3 and indicate the negative or positive impact experts believe each factor has. This is a survey of practitioner opinions, not an official Google ranking-factor list.

Source: Zyppy Signal, Cyrus Shepard & Dawn Shepard, September 9, 2026. Original charts and logos belong to their respective creators.

Google ranking factors: relevance